Sea Legs
by lahmrh
Summary: K/S established. McCoy is annoyed when Spock tags along on his boat trip with Kirk, but ends up feeling sympathetic when Spock becomes badly seasick.


Author's Note: Written for the comment_fic prompt: _Star Trek, Kirk/Spock + McCoy, seasickness._

 **Sea Legs**

McCoy's first inkling that the day is not going to go the way he planned is when Kirk shows up at the pier with a particular Vulcan menace trailing behind him.

"I invited Spock along," Kirk tells him amiably. "Hope that's not a problem."

McCoy grits his teeth and takes a deep breath. "Of course not," he says, forcing a smile. "The more the merrier."

It's his fault, he supposes. He should have expected that Kirk would want to bring his Vulcan shadow along, but he'd kind of banked on it just being the two of them for once.

"Come on," he says, turning away from them. "The boat's over here."

They fall into step behind him, and McCoy decides he might as well attempt to make conversation. "I didn't think this would be your kind of thing, Spock." He hopes it doesn't sound too much like an accusation.

"Neither did I," Spock replies. "I have never been on a boat before, but I found Jim's descriptions intriguing."

 _Did you now?_ Somehow he doubts that's all Spock found intriguing.

Ten minutes later, they've untied the boat and are heading for the open seas. It's been a long time since McCoy handled a boat like this, but it quickly comes back to him. The prow cuts through the water effortlessly, eating up the miles, and McCoy forgets all about his annoyance as the exhilaration takes over.

He's so caught up in the process of steering that he's startled by a hand on his shoulder. "Bones?"

He turns to see Kirk standing by his side. "Jim!" he exclaims, above the noise of the engine. "Having fun?"

Kirk nods, smiling faintly. "It's great, Bones." His voice lowers a fraction as he adds, "I was just wondering if you had anything for seasickness."

McCoy frowns. "You feeling queasy?" He's sure Kirk never mentioned anything about seasickness before.

Kirk shakes his head. "It's not for me."

Oh. He'd almost forgotten about their extra passenger. He glances over his shoulder to see Spock sitting near the back of the boat, staring out over the water. He doesn't look any different from usual, but then, McCoy supposes, he wouldn't.

He turns back to Kirk and shakes his head. "Sorry. I have a few things, but with his weird biology they'd be useless at best."

Kirk nods. "Well, thanks anyway." He grabs a bottle of water and goes to sit with Spock.

McCoy goes back to driving the boat, but some of the fun has gone out of it. The next time he glances back, Kirk has his arm around Spock, who is leaning against Kirk's side and taking occasional sips from the bottle of water.

They look very cosy, and the thought pops into McCoy's head that perhaps Spock was only pretending to feel ill to get closer to Kirk. He certainly doesn't _look_ sick.

A message pops up on his screen, directing him to a particularly good fishing spot a few miles east. He considers for a moment, then obediently turns the boat in that direction. The woman who rented him the boat mentioned that there was some fishing gear under one of the seats, and it'll give the two lovebirds something to do besides cuddling. Assuming Spock doesn't veto the whole idea, he thinks darkly.

There's a sudden odd noise behind him, and he turns to see the object of his thoughts leaning over the side of the boat, heaving into the water. _Huh. Guess he_ wasn't _faking._

Kirk glances up at him from where he's kneeling beside Spock, steadying him and rubbing his back. "I think we'd better head back," he says. "I'm sorry, Bones."

McCoy sighs inwardly, but he's already come to the same conclusion. He might not like Spock all that much, but he doesn't want him to suffer, and from the sounds of things that's what'll happen as long as they stay out here.

He turns back to the controls and plots a course back to the harbour. The next time he looks round it's to see a rather pale-looking Spock pressed against Kirk's side, but this time it doesn't bother him.

In fact, by the time they finally dock, he's almost feeling sorry for the hobgoblin. Spock threw up twice more on their way back, and even Kirk's worried comfort hasn't kept him from looking about as miserable as a Vulcan can look. McCoy has never suffered from motion sickness himself, but his sister had it bad when they were kids, so he knows how awful it can be.

"Come on," he says, more gently than usual. "Let's get you somewhere that isn't moving."

For once Spock doesn't argue.

He's pale and shaky as they exit the boat, but once he's settled on a bench with a new bottle of water, he begins to recover rapidly.

"Guess I'll go give the boat back," McCoy says.

"Actually," Spock puts in, "I would not object if you and Jim wished to go out again without me."

"Really?" McCoy asks.

Spock nods. "That was the original plan, was it not? And it seems illogical to pay for an entire day and only use point eight of an hour."

He has a point. McCoy turns to Kirk. "Well, Jim? What do you say?"

"Are you sure?" Kirk asks Spock. He's being less obviously affectionate now they're in public, but he's still sitting fairly close. "I feel bad leaving you alone while you're not feeling well."

Spock nods. "I am feeling much better now. And I know you've been anticipating this outing for days, and I have no wish for my illness to ruin it. You should go."

"Well, all right. If you're sure." Kirk brushes his fingers against Spock's almost idly and stands. "I'll see you back on the ship."

McCoy finds himself giving Spock a genuine smile. "Thanks, Spock," he says. "And don't worry; I'll take good care of him."

Kirk slaps him on the arm, but he's grinning. And as McCoy turns away towards the boat, he swears he sees the corners of Spock's mouth turn upwards faintly in response.


End file.
